Duke had already won at Wake Forest to extend its winning streak to 13 games, and now Auburn was down four points to Tennessee in the final two minutes at home, at which point Saturday looked like it might deliver a development that would create change at the top of the Top 25 And 1.
But then Tahaad Pettiford made a jumper. And then Miles Kelly sank a 3 pointer. And then Pettiford added a free throw. And in a matter of just 97 seconds, Auburn went on a 6-0 run to close the game that flipped a 51-47 deficit into a 53-51 victory that extended the Tigers' winning streak to 11 games and allowed them to remain No. 1 in Sunday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
Auburn is No. 1 for the 19th straight morning.
Oh, and Johni Broome played!
Auburn's National Player of the Year candidate took the court for the first time since suffering an ankle injury at South Carolina on Jan. 11 when he entered Saturday's game early in the first half. The 6-foot-10 senior finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in 33 minutes while reestablishing himself as the favorite to take SEC Player of the Year honors and the biggest threat to Cooper Flagg's pursuit at Duke to become the youngest Wooden Award winner in history.
"I just want to thank my trainers and my doctors and Johni Broome for living in the training room for two weeks," said Auburn coach Bruce Pearl. "I didn't think he was gonna come back tonight, in the middle of the week. And, even here the day before, I knew he wanted to go. I didn't think he was gonna be effective. And he had a triple-double tonight: 16 points, 13 rebounds, and he missed 12 shots. But I think the team really respected their leader for putting it on the line. And I don't know if we win if he doesn't come back."
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Johni Broome finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday's 53-51 win over Tennessee. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday at LSU. | -- | 21-1 | |
2 | Cooper Flagg finished with 24 points and six assists in Saturday's 63-56 win at Wake Forest. The Blue Devils' next game is Monday against NC State. | -- | 20-2 | |
3 | Curtis Jones finished with 33 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 76-61 win at Arizona State. The Cyclones' next game is Monday at Arizona. | -- | 17-5 | |
4 | Aden Holloway finished 19 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 80-73 win over LSU. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday at Mississippi State. | -- | 19-3 | |
5 | Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 17 points and five steals in Saturday's 89-59 win over Georgia. The Gators' next game is Saturday at Tennessee. | -- | 19-3 | |
6 | Zakai Zeigler was 4-of-15 from the field in Saturday's 51-53 loss at Tennessee. The Vols' next game is Tuesday against Kentucky. | -- | 19-4 | |
7 | Stevie Mitchell finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Friday's 87-74 win over Villanova. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at Butler. | 1 | 18-5 | |
8 | Jase Richardson finished with 20 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 81-74 win over Rutgers. The Spartans' next game is Tuesday against Minnesota. | 1 | 18-4 | |
9 | Braden Smith finished with 24 points and 10 assists in Friday's 91-64 win over Michigan. The Boilermakers' next game is Friday against Indiana. | 3 | 18-5 | |
10 | J'Wan Roberts finished with 24 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 92-86 double-overtime win at Kansas. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday at West Virginia. | 6 | 18-4 | |
11 | Koby Brea was 1-of-5 from the field in Saturday's 74-69 loss to Vanderbilt. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday at Tennessee. | 4 | 15-7 | |
12 | Riley Kugel finished with 15 points and two steals in Saturday's 65-60 win at South Carolina. The Bulldogs' next game is Wednesday against Alabama. | 1 | 16-6 | |
13 | AJ Storr was 0-of-6 from the field in Saturday's 92-86 double-overtime loss to Houston. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday against UCF. | 3 | 16-6 | |
14 | Nate Bittle was 0-of-3 from the field in Saturday's 77-69 loss at Minnesota. The Ducks' next game is Thursday at UCLA. | 3 | 16-7 | |
15 | PJ Haggerty finished with 22 points and four steals in Thursday's 61-53 win over Wichita State. The Tigers' next game is Sunday against UAB. | -- | 19-4 | |
16 | Henry Coleman III was 1-of-5 from the field in Saturday's 70-69 loss at Texas. The Aggies' next game is Tuesday against Oklahoma. | 2 | 17-5 | |
17 | Tamar Bates finished with 26 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 83-75 win over Ole Miss. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Mississippi State. | 5 | 17-5 | |
18 | Jake Davis was 1 of 5 from the field in Thursday's 91-70 loss to Maryland. The Illini's next game is Sunday against Northwestern. | -- | 15-8 | |
19 | John Blackwell committed four turnovers before fouling out in Tuesday's 85-83 loss at UCLA. The Badgers' next game is Sunday against Nebraska. | 1 | 18-5 | |
20 | Sean Pedulla committed four turnovers in Saturday's 83-75 loss at Missouri. The Rebels' next game is Wednesday against Texas. | 3 | 17-6 | |
21 | Danny Wolf was 1 of 7 from the field in Friday's 91-64 loss at Purdue. The Wolverines' next game is Monday against Penn State. | -- | 17-5 | |
22 | Kadary Richmond finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 79-71 win over Xavier. The Red Storm's next game is Tuesday at Georgetown. | 1 | 20-3 | |
23 | Reyne Smith finished with 30 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 98-73 win at SMU. The Cardinals' next game is Tuesday against Wake Forest. | 1 | 17-6 | |
24 | JT Toppin finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 81-71 win at Cincinnati. The Red Raiders' next game is Sunday against Oklahoma State. | 1 | 18-4 | |
25 | Chauncey Wiggins finished with 16 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 72-57 win at Virginia Tech. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at NC State. | 1 | 18-5 | |
26 | Jason Edwards finished with 18 points and four assists in Saturday's 74-69 win over Kentucky. The Commodores' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma. | NR | 16-6 |